Communication system

ABSTRACT

When a line for communication of audio signals between first and second portable-telephone devices through a first portable-telephone base station, a second portable-telephone base station and a portable-telephone line network has been connected, IP addresses are exchanged. The IP addresses are required for communicating image data by first and second terminal adapters associated with the first and second portable-telephone devices respectively through an OCN. Image data is then transmitted to the IP addresses received in the communication through the OCN. To put it concretely, an image of the user of the first portable-telephone device is transmitted by the first terminal adapter through the OCN to the IP address of the second terminal adapter to be displayed by a second television receiver associated with the second terminal adapter. By the same token, an image of the user of the second portable-telephone device is transmitted by the second terminal adapter through the OCN to the IP address of the first terminal adapter to be displayed by a first television receiver associated with the first terminal adapter. Thus, by merely taking a portable-telephone device to a place like a store selling home electrical appliances including a television

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, the present invention relates to a communication system,more particularly, relates to a communication system that allows thecommunication to be switched to the so-called television telephone withease during a telephone conversation dependent on the voice of theconversation partner.

An ordinary telephone set only allows a voice telephone conversationwith a partner. With a television-telephone set, however, the user canhave a telephone conversation with a partner looking at an image of thepartner. In addition, by connecting a video camera to a personalcomputer, the user can also have a telephone conversation with a partnerthrough the Internet looking at an image of the partner as is the casewith a television-telephone set.

In order to have a telephone conversation with a partner while lookingat an image of the partner by using a television-telephone set or tohave a telephone conversation with a partner through the Internetlooking at an image of the partner by connecting a video camera to apersonal computer, however, it is necessary for the user to be presentin a particular room, a fixed place or the like where thetelevision-telephone set or the personal computer is placed. That is tosay, there is a problem that the user is not capable of having atelephone conversation with a partner while looking at an image of thepartner with ease when the user is not present at the particular room orhe is out.

As a possible solution to the problem described above, that is, in orderto make the television telephone usable at any place, the function of aportable telephone device which is widely used at the present time isextended so that the portable telephone device may be functioning as atelevision-telephone set.

In this case, however, it is necessary to incorporate components such asa CCD camera, a liquid crystal display device and an imagecompressing/decompressing circuit in the body of the portable telephonedevice itself. As a result, the portability inherent in the-portabletelephone device is lost substantially due to causes such as an increasein device size, an increase in device weight and a decrease in batterylife.

In stores selling home electrical appliances, on the another hand, alarge number of television receivers and VTRs of the integrated-cameratype are displayed and there is adopted an exhibition technique ofdisplaying images of customers visiting the stores taken by cameras andbroadcasted television programs by the television receivers all thetime. If the equipments for taking and displaying these images can becombined with the portable telephone device carried by the user, toimplement a television-telephone set, the user is able to use atelevision-telephone set at any place by only visiting for example anyof stores selling home electrical appliances which exist in a wideregion without losing the portability of the potable telephone deviceitself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention addressing the problemsdescribed above to provide a communication apparatus having a simpleconfiguration and a low cost such as a portable telephone device for useby the user to have the traditional voice telephone conversation with apartner wherein an extended function for implementing the function of atelevision-telephone set allowing the user to have a conversation with apartner looking at an image of the partner available by merely adding aminimum facility to the communication apparatus such as a portabletelephone device.

According to an invention described in claim 1, a total communicationsystem includes a first communication device which can communicate withanother first communication device by using a first communication systemand a second communication device which can communicate with anothersecond communication device by using a second communication system,

the first communication device comprising:

a first communication means for communicating with the another firstcommunication device by using the first communication system;

a second communication means for communicating with the secondcommunication device located in close proximity to the firstcommunication device by using a third communication system; and

a first control means for controlling the first and second communicationmeans;

the second communication device comprising:

a third communication means for communicating with the another secondcommunication device by using the second communication system;

a forth communication means for communicating with the firstcommunication device located in close proximity to the secondcommunication device by using the third communication system; and

a second control means for controlling the third and forth communicationmeans;

the first control means of the first communication device controllingthe first and second communication means;

wherein the first communication device receives address information ofthe second communication device from the second communication devicelocated in close proximity by using the third communication system;

the first communication device transmits, using the first communicationsystem, the address information received from the second communicationdevice to the another first communication device communicated with thefirst communication device by using the first communication system; and

the first communication device receives the address information of theanother second communication device from the another first communicationdevice by using the first communication system;

According to an invention described in claim 14, a first communicationdevice is employed in a total communication system comprising a firstcommunication device which can communicate with another firstcommunication device by using a first communication system and thesecond communication device which can communicate with another secondcommunication device by using a second communication system, the firstcommunication device comprising:

a first communication means for communicating with the another firstcommunication device by using the first communication system; a secondcommunication means for communicating with the second communicationdevice located in close proximity to the first communication device byusing a third communication system; and

a control means for controlling the first communication means and thesecond communication means to receive address information of the secondcommunication device from the second communication device located inclose proximity to the first communication device by using the thirdcommunication system, to transmit the address information received fromthe second communication device to the another first communicationdevice communicated with the first communication device by using thefirst communication system, and to receive address information of theanother second communication device from the another first communicationdevice by using the first communication system.

According to an invention described in claim 24, a second communicationdevice is employed in a total communication system comprising a firstcommunication device which can communicate with another firstcommunication device by using a first communication system and thesecond communication device which can communicate with another secondcommunication device by using a second communication system, the secondcommunication device comprising:

a third communication means for communicating with the another secondcommunication device by using the second communication system;

a forth communication means for communicating with the firstcommunication device located in close proximity to the secondcommunication device by using a third communication system; and

a control means for controlling the forth communication means totransmit address information of the second communication device to thefirst communication device and for controlling the third communicationmeans to receive address information of the another first communicationdevice and address information of the another second communicationdevice from the another second communication device.

According to an invention described in claim 33, a communication methodusing a total communication system includes a first communication devicewhich can communicate with another first communication device by using afirst communication system and a second communication device which cancommunicate with another second communication device by using a secondcommunication system, the communication method comprising the steps of:

receiving address information of the second communication device fromthe second communication device located in close proximity to the firstcommunication device to the first communication device by using a thirdcommunication system;

transmitting the address information received from the secondcommunication device from the first communication device by using thefirst communication system to the another first communication device byusing the first communication system; and

receiving the address information of the second communication devicetransmitted from the another first communication device, by using thethird communication system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a typical configuration of a communicationsystem provided by the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a typical internal configuration of aportable telephone device 201 used in the communication system shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a typical internal configuration of aterminal adapter 202 used in the communication system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a typical internal configuration of atelevision receiver 205 used in the communication system shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a typical internal configuration of anauthentication/accounting server 235 used in the communication systemshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a typical data structure of a user controltable used in the authentication/accounting server 235 shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram used for describing the operation ofthe communication system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram used for describing the operation ofthe communication system shown in FIG. 1 which is carried out when theportable-telephone device 201 is moved;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another typical configuration of acommunication system provided by the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a typical internal configuration of apersonal computer 301 used in the communication system shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another typical configuration of acommunication system provided by the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another typical configuration of acommunication system provided by the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another typical configuration of acommunication system provided by the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another typical configuration of acommunication system provided by the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanyingdiagrams.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a typical configuration of a communicationsystem provided by the present invention. In this typical configuration,a portable telephone device 201 is capable of communicating with aclosest portable-telephone base station 231-1 by using an electric wave.The portable-telephone base station 231-1 is connected to anotherportable-telephone base station 231-2 through a portable-telephone linenetwork 232. The portable-telephone base station 231-2 is capable ofcommunicating with another potable telephone device 301 by using anelectric wave.

In addition, the portable telephone device 201 is capable ofcommunicating with an infrared-ray communication unit 204 of a terminaladapter 202 by using an infrared ray. The terminal adapter 202 isprovided with a video camera 203 for taking an image of the user of theportable telephone device 201 and installing the image inside theterminal adapter 202. The terminal adapter 202 is connected to atelevision receiver 205 by an IEEE1394 high-speed serial bus 206 whichis referred to hereafter simply as a 1394 bus. The television receiver205 is capable of displaying the image of the user of the portabletelephone device 301 supplied thereto by the terminal adapter 202.

The terminal adapter 202 is connected to another terminal adapter 302through an OCN (Open Computer Network) 233. Much like the terminaladapter 202, this terminal adapter 302 has an infrared-ray communicationunit 304 and a video camera 303 and is thus capable of communicatingwith the portable telephone device 301 by using an infrared ray andtaking an image of the user of the portable telephone device 301. Theterminal adapter 302 is connected to a television receiver 305 by a 1394bus 306 and the television receiver 305 is capable of displaying theimage of the user of the portable telephone device 201 supplied theretoby the terminal adapter 302.

The OCN 233 is a new network provided by NTT (Nippon Telegraph andTelephone) Corporation for rendering computer-communication serviceswhich started in the year of 1996. The computer-communication servicesprovided by the OCN 233 include routing services based on the Internetprotocol and Internet connection services. The services are best-effortservices of a connectionless communication type suitable for computercommunication.

The OCN 233 is connected to the Internet 234 which is also connected toan authentication/accounting server 235.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of theportable telephone device 201. Since the configuration of the portabletelephone device 301 is the same as that of the portable telephonedevice 201, portable telephone device 301 is not shown in a figure.

A CPU 11 carries out various kinds of processing by execution ofprograms stored in a ROM 12. A RAM 13 is used for properly storing dataand programs required by the CPU 11 in carrying out the processing. AnEEPROM 14 is used for storing information for uniquely identifying theowner of the portable telephone device 201 such as a PID (personal ID).

An input unit 16 comprises the ten keys, a sharp key, an asterisk keyand another keys as well as buttons used by the user for enteringcommands to request the CPU 11 to carry out various kinds of processing.In particular, a television-telephone button 16A of the input unit 16 isoperated by the user when it is desired to set the portable-telephonedevice 201 or 301 in a television-telephone mode. To put it in detail,this television-telephone button 16A is pressed in order to utilize anextended function of the portable-telephone device 201 or 301 allowingthe user to use the portable-telephone device 201 or 301, which isnormally-used as an ordinary telephone terminal, as atelevision-telephone terminal. A microphone 17 picks up voice of theuser whereas a speaker 18 outputs voice of a communication partner tothe user. A display unit 19 is implemented typically by an LCD. A numberor a symbol entered by the user by operating a key or a messagegenerated by the portable-telephone device 201 or 301 appears on thedisplay unit 19.

A radio-communication unit 20 carries out communication with the closestportable-telephone base station 231-1. An infrared-ray communicationunit 24 comprises a command generating/analyzing unit 21, aninfrared-ray generating unit 22 and an infrared-ray receiving unit 23.The infrared-ray generating unit 22 generates an infrared-ray signalcorresponding to a command supplied thereto by the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 21, transmitting the signal to theinfrared-ray communication unit 204 of the terminal adapter 202. Theinfrared-ray receiving unit 23 receives an infrared-ray signaltransmitted thereto by the infrared-ray communication unit 204 of theterminal adapter 202, passing the signal to the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 21. On the another hand, the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 21 generates a command according to aninstruction issued by the CPU 11, outputting the command to theinfrared-ray generating unit 22. In addition, the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 21 analyzes a signal received from theinfrared-ray receiving unit 23, supplying a result of the analysis tothe CPU 11. An interface unit 15 carries out interface processingbetween the CPU 11 and components on the another side, that is, theinput unit 16, the microphone 17, the speaker 18, the display unit 19,the radio-communication unit 20, the command generating/analyzing unit21, the infrared-ray generating unit 22, the infrared-ray receiving unit23, the infrared-ray communication unit 24.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of theterminal adapter 202. It should be noted that, since the configurationof the terminal adapter 302 is the same as that of the adapter 202, theterminal adopter 302 is not shown in a figure.

A CPU 31 carries out various kinds of processing by execution ofprograms stored in a ROM 32. A RAM 33 is used for properly storing dataand programs required by the CPU 31 in carrying out the processing. Acompression/decompression circuit 34 compresses and decompresses videoand audio data. An EEPROM 35 is used for storing information such as aTAID (terminal ID) of the terminal adapter 202.

A communication unit 37 carries out communication with the OCN 233. Aninfrared-ray communication unit 204 comprises a commandgenerating/analyzing unit 38, an infrared-ray generating unit 39 and aninfrared-ray receiving unit 40. The command generating/analyzing unit 38generates a command according to an instruction issued by the CPU 31,outputting the command-to the infrared-ray generating unit 39. Theinfrared-ray generating unit 39 generates an infrared-ray signalcorresponding to a command supplied thereto by the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 38, transmitting the signal to theinfrared-ray communication unit 24 of the portable-telephone device 201.On the another hand, the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 receives aninfrared-ray signal transmitted thereto by the infrared-raycommunication unit 24 of the portable-telephone device 201, passing thesignal to the command generating/analyzing unit 38. In addition, thecommand generating/analyzing unit 21 analyzes the signal received fromthe infrared-ray receiving 40, supplying a result of the analysis to theCPU 31.

A video-camera control unit 41 controls the video camera 203 to take animage of the user and outputs the image to the compression/decompressioncircuit 34. A 1394-interface unit 42 carries out interface processingbetween the CPU 31 and the 1394 bus 206. An input unit 43 is operated bythe user for entering a variety of commands. An interface unit 36carries out interface processing between the CPU 31 and thecommunication unit 37, the command generating/analyzing unit 38, theinfrared-ray generating unit 39, the infrared-ray receiving unit 40, thevideo-camera control unit 41, the 1394-interface unit 42 and the inputunit 43.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of thetelevision receiver 205. It should be noted that, since theconfiguration of the television receiver 305 is the same as that of thetelevision receiver 205, the television receiver 305 is not shown in afigure.

A CPU 61 carries out various kinds of processing by execution ofprograms stored in a ROM 62. A RAM 63 is used for properly storing dataand programs required by the CPU 61 in carrying out the processing.Controlled by the CPU 61 through an interface unit 64, a tuner 65receives an electric wave from a predetermined broadcasting station andoutputs a video signal obtained as modulation of the electric wave to adisplay unit 67 by way of a synthesizer 66. The display unit 67 isimplemented typically by a CRT. Controlled by the CPU 61 through theinterface unit 64, a video-signal generating unit 68 generates a videosignal and outputs the signal to the synthesizer 66 which synthesizesthe video signal supplied thereto by the video-signal generating unit 68and a video signal output by the tuner 65, outputting the synthesizedsignal to the display unit 67.

An audio signal output by the tuner 65 is supplied to a speaker 70 byway of a synthesizer 69. Controlled by the CPU 61 through the interfaceunit 64, an audio-signal generating unit 71 generates an audio signaland outputs the signal to the synthesizer 69 which synthesizes the audiosignal supplied thereto by the audio signal generating unit 71 and anaudio signal output by the tuner 65, outputting the synthesized signalto the speaker 70.

A 1394-interface unit 72 carries out interface processing between theCPU 61 and the 1394 bus 206. Composed of switches, buttons or adedicated remote commander, an input unit 73 supplies a command enteredby the user to the CPU 61 through the interface unit 64.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of theauthentication/accounting server 235. A CPU 81 carries out various kindsof processing by execution of programs stored in a ROM 82. A RAM 83 isused for properly storing data and programs required by the CPU 81 incarrying out the processing. A keyboard 85 and a mouse 86 are operatedby the user for entering a variety of commands. On a display unit 87,characters and images are properly displayed. A hard disc 88 is used forstoring a user control table as shown in FIG. 6. Each row of the usercontrol table comprises pieces of information including the personal ID(PID) of a portable-telephone device such as the portable-telephonedevice 201 or 301, the terminal ID (TAID) of a terminal adapter such asthe terminal adapter 202 or 302, a usage start time and date of thetelevision-telephone set to be described later, a usage end time anddate of the television-telephone set also to be described later, acumulated charge of using the television-telephone set and the number ofa credit card to which the cumulated charge is to be billed. Inaddition, the hard disc 88 is also used for storing a communicationhistory for each user in addition to the information required forauthentication and accounting processing for telephone services renderedto the user.

A communication unit 89 carries out communication with the Internet 234.A microphone 90 picks up voice of the user and a speaker 91 outputs anaudio signal to the user. An interface unit 84 carries out interfaceprocessing between the CPU 81 and the components; the keyboard 85, themouse 86, the display unit 87, the hard disc 88, the communication unit89,, the microphone 90, and the speaker 91.

Next, the operation of the communication system is explained referringto FIG. 7. As shown in the figure, the operation of the communicationsystem begins with the step S101 at which the user of theportable-telephone device 201 operates the input unit of theportable-telephone device 201, entering the telephone number of theportable-telephone device 301 in order to call the portable-telephonedevice 301. When the telephone number of the portable-telephone device301 and a command for starting transmission of a calling signal areentered by the input unit 16, the CPU 11 controls theradio-communication unit 20, and outputs an electric wave conveying thecalling signal to the closest portable-television base station 231-1.Subsequently, the calling signal is transmitted from theportable-telephone base station 231-1 to the portable-telephone basestation 231-2 through the portable-telephone line network 232. Then, anelectric wave conveying the calling signal is transmitted by theportable-telephone base station 231-2 to the portable-telephone device301.

The radio-communication unit 20 employed in the portable-telephonedevice 301 receives the calling signal, supplying the calling signal tothe CPU 11. At a step S501, detecting such an incoming call, the CPU 11controls the display unit 19 and the speaker 18. The display unit 19displays characters or symbols indicating that a call has been receivedwhile the speaker 18 outputs an audio signal to notify the user of theincoming call. Being aware of the incoming call, the user of theportable-telephone device 301 operates a response button of the inputunit 16 of the portable-telephone device 301 at a step S502 to generatea response to the incoming call.

The portable-telephone device 201 receives a response signal transmittedby the portable-telephone device 301 at a step S102, occupying acommunication line between the portable-telephone devices 201 and 301.Thereafter, an audio signal picked up by the microphone 17 employed bythe portable-telephone device 201 is supplied to the radio-communicationunit 20 through the interface unit 15 in the portable-telephone device201 and then transmitted by the radio-communication unit 20 along a pathcomprising the portable-telephone base station 231-1, theportable-telephone line network 232 and the portable-telephone basestation 231-2 to the portable-telephone device 301 wherein the audiosignal is output to the speaker 18 through the radio-communication unit20 and the interface unit 15. By the same token, an audio signal pickedup by the microphone 17 employed by the portable-telephone device 301 issupplied to the radio-communication unit 20 through the interface unit15 in the portable-telephone device 301 and then transmitted by theradio-communication unit 20 along a path comprising theportable-telephone base station 231-2, the portable-telephone linenetwork 232 and the portable-telephone base station 231-1 to theportable-telephone device 201 wherein the audio signal is output to thespeaker 18 by way of the radio-communication unit 20 and the interfaceunit 15. In this way, an ordinary telephone conversation based on audiosignals is thus possibly made between the users of theportable-telephone devices 201 and 301.

Next, when the user of the portable-telephone device 201 wants to switchthe communication mode from the ordinary telephone conversation basedonly on audio signals to the so-called television-telephone conversationaccompanied by transmission of images, the user operates thetelevision-telephone button 16A of the portable-telephone device 201 ata step S103. At that time, the CPU 11 employed in the portable-telephonedevice 201 reads out a personal ID (which is abbreviated hereafter to aPID) of the portable-telephone device 201 from the EEPROM 14, outputtingthe PID to the command generating/analyzing unit 21 along with a requestfor a television-telephone connection. The PID and the request for atelevision-telephone connection are then transmitted to the terminaladapter 202 by the infrared-ray generating unit 22 by an infrared-raysignal.

When the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 employed in the terminal adapter202 receives the infrared-ray signal transmitted by theportable-telephone device 201 at a step S201, a command conveyed by thesignal from the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 is output to the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 38 which analyzes the command and supplies aresult of the analysis to the CPU 31 through the interface unit 36.Receiving the PID and the request for a television-telephone connectiontransmitted by the portable-telephone device 201 at a step S202, the CPU31 controls the communication unit 37 through the interface unit 36 tomake an access to the authentication/accounting server 235 through theOCN 233 and the Internet 234. In the access, the PID of theportable-telephone device 201 and a terminal ID (referred to hereafteras a TAID) of the terminal adapter 202 read out from the EEPROM 35-aretransmitted to the authentication/accounting server 235 along with arequest for authentication.

At a step S401, the authentication/accounting server 235 receives therequest for authentication, the PID and the TAID transmitted by theterminal adapter 202 through the communication unit 89 employed in theserver 235. The CPU 81 employed in the authentication/accounting server235 judges whether or not the PID and the TAID are registered in theuser control table of FIG. 6 stored in the hard disc 88 as IDs which canbe authenticated, that is, judged to be valid IDs. If the PID and theTAID are registered in the user control table as valid IDs, the presenttime and date are cataloged in the user control table as a usage starttime and date. At a step S402, the CPU 81 of theauthentication/accounting server 235 transmits a result ofauthentication from the communication unit 89 to the communication unit37 of the terminal adapter 202 through the Internet 234 and the OCN 233.

At a step S203, the CPU 31 of the terminal adapter 202 evaluates theresult of authentication received from the communication unit 37. If theresult of authentication indicates that the PID and TAID required forcarrying out a television-telephone communication are valid, the CPU 31reads out an IP address IP (202) of the terminal adapter 202 stored inthe EEPROM 35 in advance and controls the command generating/analyzingunit 38 to transmit the IP address IP (202) to the portable-telephonedevice 201 through the infrared-ray generating unit 39 as aninfrared-ray signal at a step S204.

At a step S104 the IP address IP (202) is received by the infrared-rayreceiving unit 23 employed in the portable-telephone device 201 and passthe signal to the CPU 11 by the command generating/analyzing unit 21 byway of the interface unit 15.

If the result evaluated at the step S203 indicates that authenticationrequired for carrying out a television-telephone communication is notobtained, on the another hand, the IP address IP (202) of the terminaladapter 202 itself is not transmitted to the portable-telephone device201 at the step S204. If the CPU 11 employed in the portable-telephonedevice 201 does not receive the IP address from the terminal adapter 202at the step S104 the CPU 11 judges that the television-telephonecommunication is not authenticated and therefore does not carry outsubsequent processing for the television-telephone communication anymore.

If the CPU 11 receives the IP address IP (202) from the terminal adapter202 at the step S104 as described above, on the another hand, the CPUt11 judges that the television-telephone communication is properlyauthenticated and therefore enters a television-telephone mode to carryout subsequent processing for the television-telephone communication.

In this case, at a step S105, the CPU 11 employed in theportable-telephone device 201 controls the radio-communication unit 20to transmit the IP address IP (202) of the terminal adapter 202 receivedat the step S104 to the radio-communication unit 20 employed in theportable-telephone device 301 through a path comprising theportable-telephone base station 231-1, the portable-telephone linenetwork 232 and the portable-telephone base station 231-2.

The CPU 11 employed in the portable-telephone device 301 receives the IPaddress IP (202) at a step S503. At a step S504 the CPU 11 supplies theIP address IP (202) to the command generating/analyzing unit 21 whichthen transmits the IP address IP (202) to the terminal adapter 302through the infrared-ray generating unit 22.

At a step S701, the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 employed in theterminal adapter 302 receives the IP address IP (202), passing a resultof reception to the command generating/analyzing unit 38 which suppliesthe IP address IP (202) to the CPU 31 through the interface unit 36. Asa result, the terminal adapter 302 is hereafter capable of transmittingan image signal to the terminal adapter 202, strictly speaking, to thereceived IP address IP (202), through the OCN 233.

Then, processing is carried out among the portable-telephone device 301,the terminal adapter 302 and the authentication/accounting server 235 asthe processing carried out among the portable-telephone device 201, theterminal adapter 202 and the authentication/accounting server 235 asdescribed above.

To put it in detail, if the user of the portable-telephone device 301also wants to switch the communication mode from the ordinary telephoneconversation based only on audio signals to the so-calledtelevision-telephone conversation accompanied by transmission of images,the user operates the television-telephone button 16A of theportable-telephone device 301 at a step S505. Since theportable-telephone device 301 has the same configuration as theportable-telephone device 201 shown in FIG. 2, the-operation of theportable-telephone device 361 is described referring to FIG. 2. At thistime, the CPU 11 employed in the portable-telephone device 301 reads outa personal ID (PID) of the portable-telephone device 301 from the EEPROM14, outputting the PID to the command generating/analyzing unit 21 alongwith a request for a television-telephone connection. The PID and therequest for a television-telephone connection are then transmitted tothe terminal adapter 302 from the infrared-ray generating unit 22 as aninfrared-ray signal.

When the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 employed in the terminal adapter302 receives the infrared-ray signal transmitted by theportable-telephone device 301 at a step S702, a command conveyed by thesignal is output to the command generating/analyzing unit 38. Since theterminal adapter 302 has the same configuration as the terminal adapter202 shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the terminal adapter 302 isexplained properly referring to FIG. 3. The command generating/analyzingunit 38 analyzes the command and supplies a result of the analysis tothe CPU 31 through the interface unit 36. Receiving the PID and therequest for a television-telephone connection transmitted by theportable-telephone device 301 at a step S703, the CPU 31 controls thecommunication unit 37 through the interface unit 36 to make an access tothe authentication/accounting server 235 through the OCN 233 and theInternet 234. In the access, the PID of the portable-telephone device301 and a terminal ID (TAID) of the terminal adapter 302 read out fromthe EEPROM 35 are transmitted to the authentication/accounting server235 along with a request for authentication.

At a step S403, the authentication/accounting server 235 receives therequest for authentication, the PID and the TAID transmitted by theterminal adapter 302 through the communication unit 89. The CPU 81employed in the authentication/accounting server 235 judges whether ornot the PID and the TAID are previously registered in the user controltable of FIG. 6 stored in the hard disc 88 as IDs which can beauthenticated, that is, judged to be valid IDs. If the PID and the TAIDare registered in the user control table as valid IDs, the present timeand date are cataloged in the user control table as a usage start timeand date. At a step S404 the CPU 81 of the authentication/accountingserver 235 transmits a result of authentication from the communicationunit 89 to the communication unit 37 of the terminal adapter 302 throughthe Internet 234 and the OCN 233.

At a step S704 the CPU 31 of the terminal adapter 302 evaluates theresult of authentication received from the communication unit 37. If theresult of authentication indicates that the PID and TAID required forcarrying out a television-telephone communication are valid, the CPU 31reads out an IP address IP (302) of the terminal adapter 302 stored inthe EEPROM 35 in advance and controls the command generating/analyzingunit 38 to transmit the IP address IP (302) to the portable-telephonedevice 301 through the infrared-ray generating unit 39 as aninfrared-ray signal at a step S705.

At a step S506, the IP address IP (302) is received by the infrared-rayreceiving unit 23 employed in the portable-telephone device 301 andpassed the received signal to the CPU 11 by the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 21 through the interface unit 15.

If the result evaluated at the step S704 indicates that authenticationrequired for carrying out a television-telephone communication is notobtained, on the another hand, the IP address IP (302) of the terminaladapter 302 itself is not transmitted to the portable-telephone device301 at the step S705. If the CPU 11 employed in the portable-telephonedevice 301 does not receive the IP address from the terminal adapter 302at the step S506, the CPU 11 judges that the television-telephonecommunication is not authenticated and therefore does not carry outsubsequent processing for the television-telephone communication anymore.

If the CPU 11 receives the IP address IP (302) from the terminal adapter302 at the step S506 as described above, on the another hand, the CPU 11judges that the television-telephone communication is properlyauthenticated and therefore enters a television-telephone mode to carryout subsequent processing for the television-telephone communication.

In this case, at a step S507, the CPU 11 employed in theportable-telephone device 301 controls the radio-communication unit 20to transmit the IP address IP (302) of the terminal adapter 302 receivedat the step S506 to the radio-communication unit 20 employed in theportable-telephone device 201 through a path comprising theportable-telephone base station 231-2, the portable-telephone linenetwork 232 and the portable-telephone base station 231-1.

The CPU 11 employed in the portable-telephone device 201 receives the IPaddress IP (302) at a step S106. At a step S107, the CPU 11 supplies theIP address IP (302) to the command generating/analyzing unit 21 whichthen transmits the IP address IP (302) to the terminal adapter 202 byway of the infrared-ray generating unit 22.

At a step S205, the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 employed in theterminal adapter 202 receives the IP address IP (302), passing a resultof reception to the command generating/analyzing unit 38 which suppliesthe IP address IP (302) to the CPU 31 through the interface unit 36. Asa result, the terminal adapter 202 is hereafter capable of transmittingan image signal to the terminal adapter 302, strictly speaking, thereceived IP address IP (302), through the OCN 233.

It should be noted that-a request to switch the communication mode to atelevision-telephone conversation can be made from either theportable-telephone device 201 or the portable-telephone device 301.

Next, at a step S206, the CPU 31 employed in the terminal adapter 202controls the video-camera control unit 41 to supply image data picked upby the video camera 203 to the compression/decompression circuit 34then, the compression/decompression circuit 34 compresses the image datasupplied thereto, supplying the compressed data to the communicationunit 37. Subsequently, the communication unit 37 transmits the imagedata to the terminal adapter 302 through the OCN 233.

At a step S706, the communication unit 37 employed in the terminaladapter 302 receives the image data, supplying the data to thecompression/decompression circuit 34 then, the compression/decompressioncircuit 34 decompresses the image data supplied thereto, feeding thedecompressed data to the CPU 31. At a step S707, the CPU 31 drives the1394-interface unit 42 to transmit the image data decompressed by thecompression/decompression circuit 34 to the television receiver 305through the 1394 bus 306.

At a step S801, the 1394-interface unit 72 employed in the televisionreceiver 305 receives the image data transmitted thereto through the1394 bus 306, passing the data to the CPU 61. Then, the CPU 61 outputsthe image data to the synthesizer 66 by way of the video-signalgenerating unit 68. Finally, the synthesizer 66 supplies the image datato the display unit 67 for displaying the image thereon. The powersupply of the terminal adapter 302 and/or the television receiver 305are forcibly turned on in case they are not turned on yet. As a result,an image of the user of the portable-telephone device 201 is displayedon the display unit 67 employed in the television receiver 305.

By the same token, at a step S708, the CPU 31, employed in the terminaladapter 302 controls the video-camera control unit 41 to supply theimage data of the user of the personal-telephone device 301 picked up bythe video camera 303 to the compression/decompression circuit 3 forthen, the compression/decompression circuit 34 compresses the image datasupplied thereto, supplying the compressed data to the communicationunit 37. Subsequently, the communication unit 37 transmits the imagedata to the terminal adapter 202 through the OCN 233.

At a step S207, the communication unit 37 employed in the terminaladapter 202 receives the image data, supplying the data to thecompression/decompression circuit 34 then, the compression/decompressioncircuit 34 decompresses the image data supplied thereto, supplying thedecompressed data to the CPU 31. At a step S208, the CPU 31 drives the1394-interface unit 42 to transmit the image data decompressed by thecompression/decompression circuit 34 to the television receiver 205through the 1394 bus 206.

At a step S301, the 1394-interface unit 72 employed in the televisionreceiver 205 receives the image data transmitted thereto through the1394 bus 206, passing the data to the CPU 61. Then, the CPU 61 outputsthe image data to the synthesizer 66 through the video-signal generatingunit 68. Finally, the synthesizer 66 supplies the image data to thedisplay unit 67 for displaying the image thereon. As a result, an imageof the user of the portable-telephone device 301 is displayed on thedisplay unit 67 employed in the television receiver 205.

In this way, the users of the portable-telephone devices 201 and 301 arecapable of having a telephone conversation thereafter while looking atthe images of their partners.

As the telephone conversation is completed at a step S108, typically,the user of the portable-telephone device 201 operates thetelevision-telephone button 16A of the input unit 16 employed in theportable-telephone device 201. At this time, the CPU 11 controls theradio-communication unit 20 to transmit a termination-request signal tothe portable-telephone base station 231-1. Receiving thetermination-request signal, the portable-telephone base station 231-1cuts off the communication line and, at the same time, transmits thesignal to the portable-telephone device 301 through theportable-telephone line network 232 and the portable-telephone basestation 231-2. Notified of the termination at a step S508, the user ofthe portable-telephone device 301 ends the telephone conversation withthe user of the portable-telephone device 201. Then, at a step S509, theuser of the portable-telephone device 301 operates thetelevision-telephone button 16A of the input unit 16 employed in theportable-telephone device 301 to make a request for termination of thetelephone conversation. At that time, the CPU 11 employed in theportable-telephone device 301 controls-the command generating/analyzingunit 21 for driving the infrared-ray generating unit 22 to transmit thetermination-request signal to the terminal adapter 302.

At a step S709, the infrared-ray receiving unit 40 employed in theterminal adapter 302 transfers the received termination-request signalto the command generating/analyzing unit 38 which then passes the signalto the CPU 31. The CPU 31 finally carries out the processing toterminate the television-telephone communication in accordance with thetermination-request signal.

When the user of the portable-telephone device 301 operates thetelevision-telephone button 16A at the step S509 as described above, thecommunication line between the terminal adapters 202 and 302 isreleased.

When the user of the portable-telephone device 201 operates thetelevision-telephone button 16A of the input unit 16 employed in theportable-telephone device 201 to make a request for termination of thetelephone conversation at the step S108 as described above, the CPU 11employed in the portable-telephone device 201 controls the commandgenerating/analyzing unit 21 for driving the infrared-ray generatingunit 22 to transmit a termination-request signal to the terminal adapter202 at a step S109. Then, at a step S209, the infrared-ray receivingunit 40 employed in the terminal adapter 202 transfers the receivedtermination-request signal to the command generating/analyzing unit 38which then passes the signal to the CPU 31. The CPU 31 finally carriesout processing to terminate the television-telephone communication inaccordance with the termination-request signal.

Then, at a step S210, the CPU 31 employed in the terminal adapter 202transmits the PID of the portable-telephone device 201, the TAID of theterminal adapter 202 and a notice of the television-telephonetermination to the authentication/accounting server 235 from thecommunication unit 37 through the OCN 233 and the Internet 234. At astep S405, the PID, the TAID and the termination notice are received bythe communication unit 89 of the authentication/accounting server 235which passes the signals to the CPU 81. Receiving the information, theCPU 81 carries out processing to terminate the television telephone.Then, the present time and date are registered in the user control tableshown in FIG. 6 as a usage end time and date on the user control tableand, at the same time, a television-telephone charge for the period oftime between the usage start time and the usage end time is computed andregistered in a column for a cumulated charge of using thetelevision-telephone set. Later, the CPU 81 carries out processing todraw money indicated by the computed charge from a credit card, thenumber of which is registered in the user control table on the same lineas the PID.

As described above, a request for termination of the telephoneconversation is made from the portable-telephone device 201. It shouldbe noted, however, that such a request can also be made from theportable-telephone device 301, the partner of the portable-telephonedevice 201 initiating the telephone conversation. In addition, in thecase of a change request from the portable-telephone device 201 to theportable- telephone device 301, made from the called portable-telephonedevice 301, the charge of the television-telephone communication canalso be billed to the portable-telephone device 301.

As described above, the user of the portable-telephone device 201 iscapable of having a telephone conversation like a television-telephoneconversation with the user of the portable-telephone device 301 whennecessary by operating the television-telephone button 16A in the courseof an ordinary telephone conversation based on audio signals.

In order to make the portable-telephone device 201 portable, theportable-telephone device 201 is designed to have a small size. Thus, bymoving with the portable-telephone device 201 to a predetermined placewhere the terminal adapter 202 is installed, the user can have atelevision-telephone conversation with a partner. Assume that the userhas a television-telephone conversation by using the portable-telephonedevice 201 in a room where a terminal adapter 202-1 and a televisionreceiver 205-1 connected to each another by a 1394 bus 206-1 areinstalled, and moves taking along with the portable telephone device 201to another room where another terminal adapter 202-2 and anothertelevision receiver 205-2 connected to each another by another 1394 bus206-2 are installed as shown in FIG. 8. When moving from the former roomto the latter room, the user turns off the television-telephone button16A to temporarily suspend the television-telephone conversation,continuing a telephone conversation based on audio signals as it is. Inthe latter room, the user can resume the television-telephoneconversation by again operating the television-telephone button 16A.

Television receivers have spread as evidenced by the fact that aplurality of sets are installed per home these days. In addition, aterminal adapter having a simple configuration can be connected to eachtelevision receiver relatively with ease. That is to say, by adding somefunctions to the already existing infrastructure, a television-telephonecommunication can be established at any desired location close to atelevision receiver.

As described above, a television-telephone conversation suspended at alocation can be resumed at another place not only in the same buildingas the location but also in a different building.

As described above, the terminal adapters 202 and 302 are connected tothe television receivers 205 and 305 respectively. It is worth noting,however, that the terminal adapter 202 and the television receiver 205can be replaced by a personal computer 301 as shown in FIG. 9. By thesame token, the terminal adapter 302 and the television receiver 305 canbe replaced by a personal computer 331. In this case, the personalcomputer 301 comprises a main body 311, a display unit 312, a keyboard313 and a mouse 314 the main body 311 is connected to a video camera 203and an infrared-ray communication unit 204. By the same token, thepersonal computer 331 comprises a main body 341, a display unit 342, akeyboard 343 and a mouse 344 the main body 341 is connected to a videocamera 303 and an infrared-ray communication unit 304.

The personal computer 301 which is also used for television-telephonecommunication typically has a configuration like one shown in FIG. 10.Since the personal computer 331 has the same configuration as thepersonal computer 301, the personal computer 331 is not shown in afigure.

In the typical configuration-shown in FIG. 10, a CPU 131 carries outvarious kinds of processing by execution of programs stored in a ROM132. A RAM 133 is used for properly storing data and programs requiredby the CPU 131 in carrying out the processing. The keyboard 313 and themouse 314 are operated by the user for entering a variety of commands tobe supplied to the CPU 131 by way of the interface unit 134. On thedisplay unit 312, characters and images are properly displayed. A harddisc 135 is used for storing the ID of the personal computer 301. Acommunication unit 136 carries out communication with the OCN 233. Avideo-camera control unit 137 controls the video camera 203 to take animage of the user and outputs the image to a compression/decompressioncircuit 138 for compressing image data picked up by the video camera 203and decompressing image data supplied thereto by the communication unit136. A speaker 139 outputs an audio signal whereas a microphone 140picks up an audio signal. An interface unit 134 serves as an interfacebetween the CPU 131 and components; the display unit 312, the keyboard313, the mouse 314, the hard disc 135, the communication unit 136, thevideo-camera control unit 137, the compression/decompression circuit138, the speaker 139 the microphone 140 and the infrared-raycommunication unit 204.

The portable-telephone line network 232 described above is a network ofthe so-called connection-type communication lines in which the two usersof the portable-telephone devices 201 and 301 occupy one telephone line.On the another hand, the OCN 233 comprises the so-calledconnectionless-type communication lines used by a number of users at thesame time instead of being occupied by the two users of theportable-telephone devices 201 and 301. That is to say, in thecommunication system shown in FIG. 1, connection-type communicationlines of the portable-telephone line network 232 are used forcommunicating IP addresses as access information required forcommunicating image data as main information. The image data itself iscommunicated by using connectionless-type communication lines of the OCN233.

In a communication system like one shown in FIG. 11, on the anotherhand, typically, image data is communicated between the terminaladapters 202 and 203 through the OCN 233 initially. With such acommunication of image data established, telephone numbers ofcommunication partners, that is, the portable-telephone devices 201 and301, can be communicated through the OCN 233 whereas audio data servingas main information is communicated by way of the portable-telephoneline network 232. In this case, the television-telephone button 16A ofthe input unit 16 employed in the portable telephone device 201 shown inFIG. 2 is provided on the input unit 43 of the terminal adapter 202.

Assume that a television-telephone conversation becomes necessary duringthe communication based on audio signals through the Internet 234between Internet phones 251 and 252 in a communication system shown inFIG. 12. In this case, the IP addresses of the terminal adapters 202 and302 can be communicated through the Internet 234 between the Internetphones 251 and 252 and, when the IP addresses are received, image datacan be exchanged as main information through the OCN 233 between theterminal adapters 202 and 302. In such communication, IP addresses andimage data are both communicated by using connectionless-typecommunication lines as access information and main informationrespectively.

In a communication system shown in FIG. 13, image data is exchangedbetween the terminal adapters 202 and 302 by using a publictelephone-line network 236. In this case, the telephone numbers of theterminal adapters 202 and 302 can be communicated between theportable-telephone devices 201 and 301 through the portable-telephoneline network 232 and, by using the telephone numbers, image data can becommunicated between the terminal adapters 202 and 302 as maininformation. In such a communication system, the telephone numbers andimage data are both communicated by using connection-type communicationlines as access information and main information respectively.

In a communication system shown in FIG. 14, image data is communicatedas main information through a communication network 241 called AMInetonly in this specification. The AMInet comprises connection-typecommunication lines. In this case, the required access information is IPaddresses instead of telephone numbers. Between portable-telephonedevices 201 and 301 in such a communication system, IP addresses arecommunicated through the portable-telephone line network 232 whereasresource-reservation information of an ASP (AMInet Set-up Protocol) iscommunicated through the AMInet 241. After these communications, imagedata is communicated as main information between the terminal adapters202 and 302. The ASP is a resource reservation protocol in the AMInet.In this communication system, communication lines are connection-typecommunication lines.

The AMInet is a network having a large transmission capacity and a hightransmission speed over a large range wherein a reservation forpreserving a band can be made and a QOS (Quality of Service) is assured.In this example, such features can be implemented. For details, refer toJapanese Patent Application No. Hei9-279826 of the assignee of thepresent invention and corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No:08/160472 field on Sep. 24, 1998 or a reference authored by AtsushiShionozaki, Yasutaka Miwa and Fumio Teraoka with a title of“Implementation of Real-Time Communication by Integration of ATMs andIPs in the AMInet” submitted as part of a collection of theses presentedto the fourteenth conference of the Japan Software Academic Society, theSeptember and October numbers, 1997.

It should be noted that, as a PID described above, a caller_ID can beused. A caller_ID is the telephone number of the call originator whichis used in a service of displaying the telephone number of the calloriginator or information prior to communication. In this case,caller_ids stored in the EEPROMs 14 of the portable-telephone devices201 and 301 are used in place of the personal IDs described above. Inaddition, a portable-telephone device of any type can be used.

As described above, video or audio data is used as main information ofcommunication. It should be noted that the present invention can also beapplied to a case in which another data is communicated as maininformation. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to acase in which a simplex communication line is used as a communicationline for transmitting main information.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, by merely adding a minimum facility to a communicationapparatus such as a portable telephone device for use by the user tohave a traditional telephone conversation based on voice, an extendedfunction of a television-telephone set for use by the user to have atelevision-telephone conversation by looking at an image of the partnercan be implemented in a simple and low-cost configuration. As a result,the user is capable of using the function of a television-telephone setat any place by visiting for example any of stores selling homeelectrical appliances at which a large number of television receiversand VTRs of the integrated-camera type are displayed. It is thuspossible to implement the so-called ubiquitous communicator. Inaddition, if such appliances are displayed in a store also as resourcesof society, they can also be put into effective use.

Furthermore, since it is not necessary to provide the communicationapparatus itself such as a portable telephone device with componentssuch as a CCD camera, a liquid crystal display device and an imagecompressing/decompressing circuit, it is possible to avoid factorsserving as a hindrance to portability such as increases in apparatussize and weight.

It should be noted that presentation media for presenting a computerprogram to be executed for carrying out the processing described aboveinclude communication media- such as a network and a satellite inaddition to recording media like a magnetic disc, a CD-ROM and asolid-state memory.

1-34. (canceled)
 35. A communication device for communicating withanother communication device, said communication device comprising: afirst communicator which communicates by using a first communicationlink and a second communicator which communicates by using a secondcommunication link, wherein said second communicator obtains addressinformation of said another communication device to establish said firstcommunication link via said second communication link, and said firstcommunicator communicates with said another communication device viasaid first communication link based on said address information.
 36. Acommunication method for communicating with another communication deviceincluding a first communicator which communicates by using a firstcommunication link and a second communicator which communicates by usinga second communication link, said communication method comprising thesteps of: at said second communicator, obtaining the address informationof said another communication device to establish said firstcommunication link via said second communication link, and at said firstcommunicator, communicating with said another communication device viasaid first communication link based on said address information.
 37. Acomputer program comprising a communication method for communicatingwith another communication device including a first communicator whichcommunicates by using a first communication link and a secondcommunicator which communicates by using a second communication link,said computer program implementing the steps of: at said secondcommunicator, obtaining the address information of said anothercommunication device to establish said first communication link via saidsecond communication link, and at said first communicator, communicatingwith said another communication device via said first communication linkbased on said address information.